


Faith in Us

by BouncyOrb



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: But more just talking about the hurt part, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, lots of actual comforting tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28329054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BouncyOrb/pseuds/BouncyOrb
Summary: Getting set up on Iris was going smoothly, but Wash notices somebody isn't taking the time to relax properly.
Relationships: Agent Carolina & Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Faith in Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nasal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nasal/gifts).



> My RvB Secret Santa gift for desvarios-desviados on tumblr. This was a ton of fun! Can't wait for next year!

Life has been very long. A lot of Agent Washington’s life was spent doing things for other people. He served humanity, Project Freelancer, the people of Chorus. And when he did serve only himself, it was out of selfishness and spite and desperation. After everything with Project Freelancer, everything with the Meta, everything with the Director, everything with Chorus. Washington had a very long, very tiring life. And after Epsilon did what he did on Hargrove’s ship, he was glad to finally have the time to rest. Real rest. Nobody to fight, nothing to chase after, no reasons to run. Just him and his friends on a secret hidden moon.

Despite everything, he still couldn’t help but feel like his life was a cake walk compared to Carolina. She went through everything he did, only worse. More personally involved. Not to mention all the stuff that he never went through. She had grown more relaxed over the years. Ever since she met the Reds and Blues, after they helped her with the Director, she let her guard down. But Wash could still tell. He could see the scars, and not just the ones on her skin. He didn’t want to pity her, she wouldn’t like that. But he wanted to be there for her.

The “bases” set up on Iris were mostly prefabs from Chorus, not much actual construction to do. Whatever there was to do was mostly handled by the Reds, surprisingly. But Wash and Carolina did a lot of the heavy lifting. Literally. They were carrying the generators for both bases from the supply ship, full armor except for the helmets. Wash noticed a look on her face. Not quite a thousand yard stare, but something close to it.

“You’ve been working hard, huh Carolina?” he said, strained by the weight of the generator in his hands.

“Always am.” She replied without looking. “I like to stay busy.”

“Good, yeah.” Wash said, unsure of himself. “Listen, maybe after this we should-”

Wash was interrupted by a loud boom coming from the bases, followed by a chorus of irritated voices in the distance.

“They’re probably fine, right?” Wash asked.

“Probably.” Carolina laughed. “Let’s hurry up and see what’s going on.”

The Reds and Blues were standing around the wreckage of the Reds’ jeep, each team on either side of the smoldering debris. Carolina and Wash arrived and dropped the generators to the ground with a hefty thud.

“What happened here?” Wash asked, trying to find some kind of clue in the wreckage.

“Sarge decided that diesel wasn’t good enough for the jeep’s fuel,” Grif explained, “so he decided to run the thing on pure gunpowder.”

“Which would have worked if you knew the slightest thing about vehicle maintenance!” Sarge snapped back. “I mean who on god’s green earth uses motor oil on a car engine?”

“Should I even ask what he thinks it should be used for?” Wash asked to nobody in particular.

“[He serves it to me as if it were a drink.]” Lopez answered in Spanish. “[All these years and he still doesn’t get that I don’t eat or drink anything.]”

“That’s right, Lopez!” Sarge exclaimed. “Now what’s our poor amigo roboto supposed to eat?”

“[You should have left me on the civil war planet.]”

“Any structural damage to the bases?” Carolina asked.

“The bases look fine, Carolina.” Wash answered. “You guys can clean this up on your own while Carolina and I set up the generators?”

“No need.” Carolina said. “Wash, you do the generators, I’ll clean this up. The rest of you, just unpack. And try not to blow anything else up.”

“Carolina, these guys can do-”

“The generators, please Wash.” She started moving the wreckage away from the bases. Wash just watched her as she pushed the jeep along almost effortlessly.

“Are you worried about her?”

“Huh?” Wash snapped himself out of his tunnel vision.

“Carolina.” Tucker said. “You’re worried about her.”

“How can you tell what I’m thinking?”

“Don’t make me say it, Wash.” Tucker leaned on the generator. “She seems pretty high strung for someone on vacation.”

“Yeah, she’s not used to just relaxing.” Wash looked on.

“You should just take her out.”

“What?” Wash nearly jumped out of his armor.

“Not that kinda take her out. I mean like on a… like a…”

“A date?” Wash asked, mostly as a joke.

“Well I didn’t want to say “date” but I guess that’s what I mean, yeah.” Tucker patted him on the shoulder.

“But I don’t even feel that way about her. I mean, we’re close, but not close like that.”

“Well you’re probably the only one here close enough to get her to relax.” Tucker motioned Wash away from the generator. “You go get her, I’ll take care of these generators.”

“Tucker, these generators are industrial grade, they’re probably heavier than the jeep was before it blew up.”

“No… problem…” Tucker strained to slide the generator across the grass. “I… got this… go get her…”

Wash watched Tucker fail to move the generator for a minute, then went off to talk to Carolina. A date was ridiculous. She wouldn’t go even if he asked her out. Her last relationship ended very poorly, and she never expressed interest in anything new for herself. Just a couple of friends hanging out, taking a day to just relax and decompress. They could both use it.

“Carolina!” Wash yelled for her as he approached. He didn’t want to accidentally sneak up on her again, his leg just barely healed up from last time. He walked up to her, taking out undamaged parts from the jeep’s engine. “How’s it going over here?”

“Pretty good.” Carolina yanked out a piece of metal tubing. “You got the generators up already?”

“No, Tucker’s doing that.”

“He’s gonna hurt himself trying to move those things.” Carolina set her tools down in the driver seat of the jeep. “I’m gonna go do it for him.”

“Carolina, hold on.” Wash reached for her arm then decided against it. “I wanted to talk to you for a second.”

“Let’s talk after we get set up.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk about.” She stopped and turned around. “You seem… how do I say this.” He muttered to himself.

“What’s going on?” Carolina asked with a hand on her hip.

“I just think we should take a second to just, y’know, relax a little bit. Take a break from all the… everything really.”

Carolina sighed. “Wash, I’m fine.”

“I know you’re fine. I just want you to be better than fine for once.” Carolina didn’t react. “We could both use some time away from things for a while, just the two of us taking some time for ourselves. Some real R and R.”

Carolina looked at him with her head tilted. She worked over his words in her head.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked, smiling.

“Well I didn’t want to say “date” but I guess that’s what I mean, yeah.”

Carolina laughed, Wash smiled.

“Y’know what, Wash? You got it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” Carolina turned back towards the base. “Any ideas?”

“Well I think we have a spare blanket or two, we could have a picnic?”

“Was that a question?”

“Look, I’m not good at this.” Wash said. “Picnic, yes or no?”

“Yes.” She said confidently. “Picnic it is. How about, a half hour?”

“Sure, I’ll get the stuff.”

Carolina waved goodbye and walked back to the base. Wash left his armor with the makeshift workshop Carolina made for the jeep and made his way to the supply ship to find a set of casual clothes, the blanket, and the rations for their picnic. A date can be just spending time with a close friend. Doesn’t have to be anything romantic, right? The supply ship was more or less a cube with thrusters on it. Full to bursting with everything that a couple of space marines could need to live comfortably on a forest moon. Digging through the food boxes trying to find picnic-appropriate food to bring, Wash heard something moving inside the ship. He drew his gun and aimed it at the direction that the sound came from.

“Who’s there?”

“Please be quiet.” A familiar, lazed voice called out. “The echoing in this place is awful.”

“Grif?” Wash put the gun away. “What are you doing in here? Everyone is out there setting up the bases.”

“Well you see,” Grif popped up from underneath a pile of empty boxes, “everyone out there is setting up the bases. And so I’m in here, napping.” He laid back down in his pile of boxes. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Looking for food for a picnic.”

“Picnic? With who, Donut?”

“No, Carolina.”

“Carolina?” Grif asked. “Are you going on a date with Carolina?”

“No. Not really. Not that kind of date.”

“You sound sure of yourself,” Grif said in his deadpan mocking tone, “I guess I’ll just take your word for it.”

“Listen, I don’t… know how to have a picnic. What do I bring?”

“Is booze on the menu?”

“No, we’re trying to relax not pass out.”

“Same thing, but whatever. Here, lemme see.” Grif pushed through the sea of cardboard boxes of food. “You’re gonna want stuff that doesn’t need to stay hot. Can’t go wrong with a good sandwich and a cooler full of soda.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better guide.” Wash smiled as Grif handed him a few small boxes of food.

“I’ll bill you later.” Grif joked. “So no joke, you’re going on a-”

“I don’t know!” Wash shouted, nearly dropping the boxes. “Okay, it’s just me and her and we’re gonna have some sandwiches and relax, okay?”

Grif stood there, slouched over, watching Wash shout at him. “Again, you’re the king of knowing exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Just… thanks, Grif.” Wash left the storeroom with the boxes in his arms and a blanket over his shoulder.

“Good luck on your date!”

Wash walked out of the supply ship and headed towards the base. Carolina was probably already waiting for him. He entered the building that would be the Blues’ base, looking for Carolina.

“Are you going on a picnic, Agent Washington!?” Caboose shouted.

“Yeah, Caboose.”

“Can I come!?” Caboose asked, shaking with joy.

“Maybe next time, Caboose. I’m going with Carolina and I want to be alone with her for a while.”

“Oh, yes. I understand completely.”

“Caboose, I don’t-”

“You think Carolina is overworking herself, even on vacation, in order to keep herself busy so she can avoid confronting any of the years worth of trauma and anxiety she’s been through going as far back as her time in Project Freelancer, as well as proving to herself that she’s still superior to those around her in a subtle but undeniably self destructive way.”

“Wow, Caboose.” Wash blinked at him for a few seconds. “How did you-”

“Two of my sisters are therapists. They let me read their helping books!”

“Well thank goodness for that.” Wash said. “Have you seen Carolina, by the way?”

“Yeah, she’s with the Reds. Sarge wanted to ask her about his car.”

“Sounds like a fun time.” Wash said. “Thank you, Caboose.”

“No problem! Good luck!”

Wash didn’t like too many people telling him “good luck” all at once. Like it meant they thought he needed it. Maybe he did this time. Also, he thought the Reds and Blues were being sincere when they said it. They had a long history, him and Carolina. Well, he thought, up until just a few years ago they never got along. Never even talked much. But after the Director and Hargrove, maybe things were really gonna be okay.

“And you had the audacity to put your bastardly blue hands in that righteously Red engine! Outrageous!”

“Is bastardly a word?” Simmons asked.

“My autocorrect isn’t underlining it in red.” Donut said. “So I think so?”

“Best not to ask about it.”

“You took her apart!” Sarge continued. “Tore my precious jeep limb from limb!”

“Sarge, the jeep is exploded. All I did was take out the working pieces so we can use them to start fixing the- Oh, Wash, thank god.”

Carolina walked over to him and she looked like she might give him a hug, if not for all the boxes in his hands. She had also changed out of her armor and into something more casual.

“Sounds like you’re having a good time over here.” Wash teased.

“Please let’s just go do some of that relaxing you were talking about.”

“We aren’t done with you yet, missy!” Sarge yelled after her. “Donut, I need you to gather as much intel on her as you can, just in case.”

“Oh, nice! I’ll go find her diary!”

Wash and Carolina basically just picked a direction and walked until they couldn’t hear the Reds or Blues, then they set down the blanket and sat down with the sandwiches that Grif packed for them. They sat next to each other, looking at the beautifully mundane landscape of Iris. Wash wondered if they were sitting too close to each other. Maybe they were sitting too far apart. Should he ask her? Maybe he should just scoot over towards her. Why did his hand feel like it wanted to start shaking?

“Hey, Wash.”

“Yeah.” He answered with a mouth full of sandwich.

“Thanks.” She laid back and looked up at the earthlike blue sky. “You were right, I needed this.”

“Oh.” Wash swallowed. “Yeah, of course.” Wash nervously laid down next to her. Their arms brushed up against each other as he settled in. “So are you okay?” Wash asked. “Like, really.”

“Do you think I’m not?”

“No.” Wash thought about it. “Maybe.” He thought some more. “I don’t… I don’t think I am.”

“Don’t think you’re what?”

“I don’t think I’m okay.” Wash said. “Not all the way, anyway.” He took another bite of his sandwich. “Ever since Epsilon, back in Project Freelancer, I haven’t really had time to just process everything I’ve been through.”

Carolina scooted towards him a bit. “David…” her voice was uncharacteristically soft. “I had no idea.”

“It’s… well, it’s probably not okay. But it’s not your fault either.” He turned to look at her. “Carolina, the reason I decided to retire here with the guys was to give myself the chance to come to terms with myself.”

“I get it.” Carolina said, still watching clouds pass by overhead. “You think I should do that, sort myself out while I’m here.”

“Not exactly.” Wash said. “When people like the Counselor tried to get me to open up about things, it felt like a homework assignment instead of anything therapeutic. It took me a long time just to be ready to think about that stuff.”

Wash felt his heart pound, his face felt red. He reached out for her face. He gently turned her head to face him.

“I want to be here for you, whenever you are ready.”

“There’s… there’s a lot to get ready to think about.”

“Don’t I know it.” Wash said. He managed to get a little smile out of her. Mission accomplished, he thought. “I won’t force it, I won’t even ask about it. But when you do get there, I’ll be right there with you.”

Wash watched Carolina’s face. She looked like she just put down something heavy she’d been carrying all day. All her life maybe.

“Da… Wash, can-”

“You can call me David.” He said, “If you want to.”

“Okay.” Carolina took a breath, gathered herself. “David, I want to be here for you too. I know I don’t… I haven’t been…”

“No need for apologies.” David waved a hand at her. “We’ve both got lots of room to grow here.”

“I know, and I want to start now.” Carolina let her body unclench and relax into the blanket. “Do you… want to talk about anything?”

David laughed. “Been a while since anyone asked me that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Are you okay with just listening to me for a little bit?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” He looked up at the sky. “Epsilon. I’ve been thinking about Epsilon.”

“Yeah.” Carolina said. “Me too.”

“We have a pretty unique history, me and Epsilon. I had him in my head before he was Church, back when he was just the fragmented memories of the Alpha. Whatever he did to me that day, it’s been burned into my head forever. Sometimes I have dreams that come from him, or Alpha, or the Director. It gets hard to tell.”

Carolina surprised him by taking his hand. It was reassuring. Her way of telling him she was here for him without interrupting him. Wash squeezed her hand and kept going.

“I used to think it was just lashing out, losing it’s mind, trying to kill itself in my head. It was… He was in so much pain. It took me a long time to realize that he wasn’t trying to hurt me, or hurt himself. He was crying out for help. I didn’t really figure that out until we were well on our way to finding the Director. I felt like… I dunno, like I owed him. For not helping him back then.”

Carolina wanted to say that it wasn’t his fault, that he shouldn’t blame himself. But when has telling anyone that ever helped them believe it.

“When you left with him on Chorus, I felt like… he feels like a piece of me, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Carolina said. “I know it’s not the same, but I had him in my head for a while. Just the two of us, on our own, trying to find a bunch of old Freelancer tech. I still miss his voice in my head.”

“I guess it’s just different for me.” Wash explained. “Epsilon was only ever in my head for a few minutes. I felt connected to him in a different way. He felt like a part of me the same way your family is. Connected, somehow the same. Something in me was just drawn to something in him. I wanted to be there for him, not just because I felt like I had to. Because I wanted to. And then when he… in the end I wasn’t there for him.” Wash took a deep breath, struggling to keep his tears inside. “I wasn't there for him at the end.”

Carolina just looked at him. She was still holding his hand, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.

“Maybe you were.” Wash turned to look at her. A tear leaked out of one of his eyes. “Epsilon wasn’t your only family, David. The Reds and Blues, they’re a part of you too. And a part of you is in them.”

“Yeah.” David said. “Yeah, you’re right.” He squeezed her hand again. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Yeah, me either.” Carolina said. “You remember what he said in his message? About faith?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that really helped me get through it.” Carolina said. “The initial shock of it, the weight of the loss. He believed in us, and he believed that we would carry on without him just fine.”

“How do you think we’re doing?” he asked with a smirk.

“Well if this picnic is anything to go by…”

Wash nearly jumped to his feet when Carolina surprised him with a kiss on the cheek. He turned to look at her again. She was smiling.

“I have faith in us too.”


End file.
